1. By Harper Lee

2. Harper Lee
Born April 28th, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama
To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee’s only published novel) was published in 1960
Youngest of four children
Won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961, Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 (Highest civilian award in U.S.)
Over 30 million copies, 40 different languages, 80 weeks on the best seller list

3. Impacts surrounding the 1960 publication…
Time of turbulent civil protest
Even though slavery outlawed for nearly a century, racial discrimination was still rampant
In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was illegal
In 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her seat to a white person on a public school bus in Montgomery, Alabama
Civil Rights movement became highly publicized

4. “Scottsboro Boys” Trial
In 1931, in Scottsboro Alabama, nine African-American men- the youngest being 12 – were tried for raping two white women
Medical testimony showed that the two women had not been raped, but the all-white jury convicted the men and sentenced them to death ( other terms ranged from years in prison)
U.S. Supreme Court eventually overturned verdicts –some weren’t paroled until 1976
Even though Harper Lee was only 6 years old when the first trial took place, this trial had a significant impact on Harper Lee and served as the basis for the trial in TKAM

5. POINT OF VIEW
1st Person
Story told by Scout; she is 6 years old at the beginning of the novel
Scout’s age allows Lee to take advantage of a child’s innocence to explain complex issues
Adds complexity by having the narrator tell the story as a flashback
Harper Lee would have been the same age as Scout when TKAM takes place
Lee’s father was a small town lawyer, just like Atticus Finch
Scout represents Harper Lee as a child; although the story is not strictly autobiographical

6. SETTING Maycomb, Alabama 1930’s Great Depression
Prejudice and legal segregation

7. MAIN CHARACTERS Scout (Jean Louise Finch) – six-year-old
narrator of story
Jem (Jeremy Finch) – her older brother
Atticus Finch – Jem and Scout’s father,
a prominent lawyer
Arthur (Boo) Radley – a thirty-three-year-old recluse who lives next door
Charles Baker (Dill) Harris – Jem and Scout’s friend who comes to visit his aunt in Maycomb each summer
Tom Robinson – a respectable black man
Calpurnia – the Finches’ black cook

8. Social class in the Novel
This is probably similar to how class structure existed during the 1930’ s in the South.
The wealthy, although fewest in number, were most powerful.
The Black Community, although great in number, were lowest on the class ladder, and thus, had the least privileges
Examples of each social class:
Upper middle class – Finches
Country Folk – Cunninghams
“Poor White Trash” – Ewells
Black Community – Tom Robinson

9. Began when the stock market crashed in October 1929
1930’s – Great Depression
Began when the stock market crashed in October 1929
Businesses failed, factories closed
People were out of work
Even people with money suffered because nothing was being produced for sale
Poor people lost their homes and were forced to “live off the land.”

10. Racial prejudice was alive and well
Racial prejudice was alive and well. Although slavery had ended in 1864 , old ideas were slow to change.

11. Gender Bias (Prejudice)
Women were considered “weak”
Women were generally not educated for occupations outside the home
In wealthy families, women were expected to oversee the servants and entertain guests
Men not considered capable of nurturing children

12. Legal Issues of the 1930’s
that impact the story
Women given the vote in 1920
Juries were MALE and WHITE
“ Fair trial” did not include acceptance of a black man’s word against a white man’s

13. Themes
&
Motifs

14. What is courage? Adventurous Spirited Brave Valor Boldness Daring
Gallantry GUTS Intrepid
Fearless valiant bold
Adventurous
Spirited
dauntless
manly
Unappaled plucky
Heroic confident
Dash tancity
Brave
Valor Boldness Daring
Gallantry GUTS Intrepid
Fearless valiant bold
Adventurous
Spirited
dauntless manly
Unappaled plucky
Heroic confident
Dash tancity

16. OUTSIDER

17. Empathy and Kindness

18. CONSTRUCTIVE
VS.
DESTRUCTIVE

19. Racism
and Prejudice